Workers from Amazon, Instacart, and others are calling in sick to protest poor virus protections
On May 1st, workers from Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, FedEx, Target, and Walmart joined together in a series of work stoppages to protest conditions and equipment in the face of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The actions have been organized by a range of groups within the various companies, but are timed to coincide with International Workers’ Day. The groups are encouraging customers to boycott the stores and services for the duration of the day.
Organizers at Amazon said thousands of employees are participating in the actions nationwide.
The groups are calling for better practices and equipment to protect frontline workers from contracting the disease at work. Specifics of those protections vary between companies and jobs: Instacart workers are calling for better distribution of personal protective equipment (or PPE), while Whole Foods workers are calling for locations with positive cases to be shut down for 14 days.
Amazon delivery service partners are asking for professional cleaners to sanitize vehicles at the end of each shift. Currently, drivers are provided with cleaning supplies and asked to sanitize the vehicles themselves.
Amazon has refused to disclose the number of employees who have tested positive for COVID-19, communicating only individual cases to the employees affected. As part of today’s action, Amazon employees are pushing back against that practice and calling on the company to “be transparent and honest about the number of cases they have in their facilities.”
Earlier this month, Amazon implemented new policies to protect workers from the virus, including two weeks of paid sick leave and unlimited unpaid leave for employees who believe they may have been exposed. But implementation of the policies has been uneven, and the broader uncertainty has fueled further organizing efforts within the company.
“Are you being pressured to forge or doctor any sanitation logs?” one organizing document distributed among Whole Foods workers reads. “Are your leaders putting aside store sales and tight labor budgets to prioritize your health and well-being?”
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
On May 1st, workers from Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart, FedEx, Target, and Walmart joined together in a series of work stoppages to protest conditions and equipment in the face of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The actions have been organized by a range of groups within the various companies, but are…
